


We'll Get Through This Together

by WeirdItalianPlumber



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: F/M, Kind of angsty, with a hopeful ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 09:39:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14305917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdItalianPlumber/pseuds/WeirdItalianPlumber
Summary: Dee's having a baby. She has to tell Charlie.





	We'll Get Through This Together

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SunnyRarePairs2](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SunnyRarePairs2) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  ever since "the gang misses the boat" charlie and dee have had a secret "totally-not-relationship" going on and they hook up pretty often. then towards the end of season 12, dee finds out she's pregnant. this could be domestic or angsty or fluffy or whatever! i just really love this theory.
> 
> \----------
> 
> I hope this hit on what you wanted!
> 
> I really wanted to do something fluffy and give these awful people nice things, but something more angsty felt right.  
> I wasn't planning on writing for this one, only having one little scene in my head, then everything just started to flow out and I had to take it.
> 
> I wrote this in 2 days and without a beta. Any mistakes are on me.

 

Spending another early morning in front of the toilet is a rough reminder of the situation she’s in. Dee already doesn’t want to think about her current problem, but being woken up at 7 in the morning, because if it, makes things worse. It’s the first thing she’s confronted with every day; there's almost no blissful blinking into consciousness before she's faced with reality. This is not something she can ignore away. It's time suck it up and stop being a pussy. Today is the day to deal with what she's been avoiding.   

\------ 

Walking into Paddy's feels like a death march. Dee faintly acknowledges that the smoky-garbage smell of the bar, which should be disgusting, is oddly comforting. She moves past the few people in there, spotting Charlie, alone, and takes that as a sign; there's no one paying enough attention to notice anything suspicious. He looks up when she stops in front of him, forcing a confidence that she can feel fading. 

"We gotta talk," she states, nodding towards the office. 

"What's up?" Charlie asks innocently, when Dee locks the door and stands in front of him. 

This suddenly doesn't seem so easy. She takes a deep breath, telling herself just get it over with. Rip off the metaphorical band-aid. In the extended silence, Charlie's expression changes from curiosity to concern. It's enough to give her some confidence that he actually does care. 

"I'm pregnant."  

It's the first time she's said it aloud, and it feels so different this time. Almost wrong. Before it was just a fact. One meaning she'll grow a baby for a while, squeeze the thing out, and make some money. Bonus if she gets to see the guys' jealous expressions at her big payday. The words feel so heavy this time. They hold a bigger meaning. That she's going to have a baby. One that she'll have to raise. Maybe with her friends. Maybe alone. 

A soft "oh" comes from Charlie. She doesn't move, afraid that she'll spook him from saying more. The irony that their standing like this, while she pulls at her fingers, afraid to make eye contact and awaiting his next move, is almost identical to that first kiss two years ago. The one that would eventually lead them here. 

After what feels like minutes, Charlie finally speaks. "So, I guess we're done..." 

The words sting. Though it shouldn't have been surprising. First with his insistence that an abortion would've been the right thing with Stacy. Then the talk of his regret with the waitress. Really, she should've been expecting something like this. She doesn't know why she was hoping for something different. It's not like they were  _together_  with feelings and shit.  

She kicks into defensive mode, trying to bring up some anger. That's her easiest emotion to deal with. One she's not embarrassed of. She fights back tears, blaming it on pregnancy hormones and not actually caring. "Yeah, I guess-" 

"You'll probably want to go be with the dad," he starts at the same time. 

For the second time in five minutes, his words feel like they could knock her over. 

"What?" She questions, thrown off by his obliviousness. "You're the dad. Why the hell did you think I'm telling you like this?"  

He restates his initial concern, "To break up with me." They both ignore the fact that you can't "break up" with someone you're in a totally-not-relationship with. "Are you sure? 'Cause I wasn't trying to get you-" 

"I'm sure." She continues, explaining her certainty, "'You're the only one I've been with in... a while." She was hoping he wouldn't have to find out about that part. Mercifully, he just nods, simply taking in that last fact and not rubbing it in. 

"So, um, what do you want to do?" He nervously scratches at his ear.  

It's a simple, understandable, question, but one that evokes a lot more feeling than she knew she had been holding in. 

"What do I want to do? What do I  _want_ to do, Charlie? I want to go back in time and make you use a stupid condom. Or, better yet, not have sex at all that night. It's more of what I  _have_  to do now." Dee fights to keep her voice even. They're in the back office, and she can't let the guys hear her yelling about this. 

Dee’s thought about it every day for a week. Ever since the doctor's office, when the science bitch came into the room smiling like this was something to be happy about. Though she already knew the answer, sitting on her bathroom floor, days before, staring at that little stick that held big, life changing information. That gaggy, nauseous feeling induced by nerves this time. 

She could just get rid of it, "flush it out" as Frank so eloquently suggested when she first tried the surrogate thing. It felt wrong somehow, to grow someone else's baby, but never give hers a chance. She could rule that out. 

Then, there was adoption. People out there that actively  _wanted_  a kid. That's an option, and one she could always fall back on anytime. But, just passing the kid over to strangers felt wrong, a sort of unspoken "fuck you". This thing wasn't even a person yet, but Dee already knew that she didn't want her kid to feel as unwanted as she did. Cross that off the list. Which left- 

She wonders  _how the fuck_ they could actually be parents. Ignoring the fact that they're definitely not together,there's tons of other things making it seem like a cruel joke. Hell, the more she thinks about it, the more their ambiguous and awkward relationship status seems like a minuscule thing. Neither one of them have a real place for the baby to live. Dee thinks about her apartment, how crowded the one bedroom felt sharing with Mac and Dennis. Charlie's living situation is just ridiculous, a dirty studio he shares with a 70-year-old man. Neither option seemed like a good place for a baby. She's not ready to get into the fact that he can barely read, which considering it now, seems dangerous.   

Really, that last one doesn't feel like an option, either.  

"Do you know the hell I'm going through for this thing? Constantly feeling like shit. And you know what you can't do when you're pregnant, Charlie? You can't drink, and that really sucks. You remember the last time we didn't drink? How awful it was? Now they've got me taking a fuck-ton of medicine that's supposed to help with  _detox_ and  _withdrawal_." She exaggerates the end, those intimidating medical words that make things sound even more serious and difficult than everything already seems. 

For once, Charlie doesn't fight back. He silently stands there and lets her rant, things that have been building and weighing for weeks. It's not much, almost nothing, but it feels like he’s helping some. 

Charlie thinks about how he's been threatened with potential fatherhood before. This feels different. He didn't really care about Stacy, she was just a fuzzy and awkward high school memory. And being stuck with the waitress wasn't anything like he had imagined. She started acting different, and wanted him to change, too. She no longer was the woman he loved. This even felt different than those few moments he thought he may be the father of the baby that Dee tricked them with. That was back when she was just a kind of annoying bird, who looked sort of pretty in the right light.  

He looks at the woman standing in front of him. The one he's known for over 20 years, intimately for the past two. Who he's shared vulnerabilities with, both emotional and physical. The fierceness he's used to seeing everyday isn't there. She doesn't look ready to fight or desperate to prove herself. She looks  _scared._  

He feels scared, too, but tries to hide it in an attempt to be strong and brave. For the both of them. For all three of them. He forces a smile, feeling its effect spread from the outside in.  

"This might be kind of cool," he says. It's mostly a sincere statement, but it still sounds more unsure than he had hoped. 

To Charlie's surprise, Dee laughs. It's soft and melodic, and he can see her relax a little. "Yeah," she sniffles, "Real goddamn cool." 

This might actually work out. They've overcame bigger challenges than this. The fact that they’re all alive seems like a feat some days.  

"Can I?" He asks softly, gently extending an arm. 

Dee nods, taking his hand and placing it on her belly, "Yeah. It's- it's your kid, too." 

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to get into Dee's headspace and her thoughts. Hopefully it comes across that way.
> 
> I know Charlie's smarter than that, and understands basically how things work, but I can see him telling her "I wasn't trying to get you pregnant." 
> 
> I wanted to touch on the no drinking thing, considering how it went in Gets Quarantined. I did a little research on the topic, most was more opiates than alcohol, but just going cold turkey can be dangerous for mom and baby, so there's medicine that's supposed to speed up the withdrawal process, and stuff to help ease the symptoms too.


End file.
